No. 96, 20 May 1994

RUSSIA
ARMS TRADE TO BE DECENTRALIZED? At what Interfax described as a
"government meeting"--presumably the regular weekly cabinet
meeting--on 19 May, First Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Soskovets
urged the liberalization of arms exports. He cited one factory in
Udmurtiya that had stockpiled automatic weapons worth $200 million
but was unable to export these because of bureaucratic delays in
Moscow and was on the verge of going bankrupt. The cabinet passed
a resolution granting defense plants the right to export military
hardware produced in excess of government procurement orders and
to seek foreign business partners independently. This move would
appear to signal the end of the arms export monopoly granted to
Rosvooruzheniye, which was created earlier this year (see
Izvestiya, 19 February 1994). Keith Bush, RFE/RL, Inc.
RENEWED PRESSURE TO BOOST DEFENSE EXPENDITURE. The chairman of the
State Duma's Defense Committee, Sergei Yushenkov, told a news
conference on 19 May that he will urge legislators to reconsider
the draft budget for 1994 and to increase projected defense
expenditure from 37.1 trillion to 55 trillion rubles, ITAR-TASS
and Interfax reported. Yushenkov echoed the assertions made by
several defense lobbyists to the effect that anything less than 55
trillion rubles would bring about the disintegration of the armed
forces: the initial bid by the Ministry of Defense had been 87
trillion rubles [i.e., about 14 percent of anticipated GDP]. First
Deputy Defense Minister Andrei Kokoshin supported the move by
declaring that over 60 percent of the defense budget is earmarked
for such social expenditures as pay, housing, and the withdrawal
of troops from abroad. Presidential spokesman Vyacheslav Kostikov
reiterated Yeltsin's support in principle for an "adequate"
defense budget without specifying where the money would come from,
and accused some legislators of "political gambling" in
orchestrating a collision course between the president and the
military-industrial complex. Keith Bush, RFE/RL, Inc.
JOINT RUSSIAN-US EXERCISES PUT ON HOLD? Moscow Radio's "Ekho
Moskvy" reported on 19 May that the Russian Defense Ministry has
halted its preparations for joint Russian-US exercises that had
been planned for July in Russia's Orenburg region. The report,
which has not been confirmed by other sources, said that fresh
talks with US military leaders would be held in June. Stephen
Foye, RFE/RL, Inc.
GROUND FORCES COMMANDER ON MANNING PROBLEMS, OTHER ISSUES.
According to Interfax, Russian Ground Forces Commander in Chief
Col. Gen. Vladimir Semenov told reporters on 19 May that officers
are continuing to leave the army and that his service, which
currently has only 80% of the officers it needs, faces an
especially acute shortage of junior officers (some 17,000).
Overall, the general said, the Ground Forces are undermanned by
550,000, and have managed to recruit only 55% of the needed number
of contract soldiers and sergeants, with the percentage falling to
30-35% in the Far East. Semenov said that by 1 January 1995 the
army should number at least 1.9 million (most current estimates
put the number below 1.5 million); he said that 21,000 troops
would be stationed at Russian military bases in other CIS states.
On other issues, Semenov said that the "Black Sea Fleet was
created by Russia and belongs to Russia;" that he has mixed
feelings about participation in the NATO Partnership for Peace
Program, but that he favored conduct of the joint Russian-US
exercises scheduled for July. Stephen Foye, RFE/RL, Inc.
RUTSKOI QUESTIONED BY PROSECUTOR. Former Vice President Aleksandr
Rutskoi was questioned on 19 May in the Russian Prosecutor's
Office about a speech he made in Moscow on 9 May. He told an
opposition rally marking the victory over Nazi Germany that
"Yeltsin's regime" would be finished within a year. Various
government officials called on the prosecutor's office to look
into Rutskoi's speech, since the Russian Constitution forbids
calls for the overthrow of the existing government. After the
meeting with a prosecutor, Rutskoi told journalists that he meant
in his speech that Yeltsin's government should be changed through
"constitutional means," rather than overthrown by force, AFP
reported. The agency quoted Rutskoi as saying, "I did not violate
the constitution, which guarantees each Russian citizen freedom of
ideas and expression." Vera Tolz, RFE/RL, Inc.
YELTSIN REJECTS SHAKHRAI'S RESIGNATION. Boris Yeltsin has rejected
the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Shakhrai.
Presidential spokesman Vyacheslav Kostikov told journalists that
Yeltsin wants Shakhrai to continue to work as Deputy Prime
Minister and coordinate several policy areas, Ostankino TV
reported on 19 May. On the previous day Yeltsin had charged that
Shakhrai's accumulation of so many positions "sometimes does not
correspond with Russia's national interests." Kostikov also stated
that Yeltsin had a six-hour discussion with Prime Minister Viktor
Chernomyrdin on government policy and economic reform and that
Yeltsin criticized some aspects of Chernomyrdin's policy.
Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL, Inc.
AIRCREW STRIKE SUSPENDED. An official of the civilian aviation
aircrew union told Interfax on 19 May that the strike committee
had decided to postpone the strike until 2 June, pending further
negotiations with the government. On the same day, a Moscow court
ruled that the aircrew strike was illegal, as it violated a law on
work disputes that bans transportation strikes. The court issued
an order against further industrial action by the aircrews, but
the presiding judge added that the union could appeal to the
Supreme court within ten days. Keith Bush, RFE/RL, Inc.
TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
KARABAKH MEDIATION UPDATE. After lengthy talks with Azerbaijani
President Heidar Aliev in Baku on 18 May, Azerbaijani Defense
Minister Mamedrafi Mamedov returned to Moscow on 19 May to clarify
details of Russia's proposed Karabakh peace plan with Russian
deputy defense minister Georgii Kondratev, ITAR-TASS and Interfax
reported. Interfax quoted Kondratev as stating that Azerbaijan
will sign the ceasefire protocol providing that it is linked to
signing a political agreement on a settlement of the conflict and
amended to provide for the return of occupied territories.
Meanwhile representatives of more than 20 opposition parties in
Azerbaijan have rejected the deployment of any foreign
peacekeeping troops, whether Russian or CIS, in Azerbaijan,
Reuters reported. Also on 19 May, a US State Department spokesman
and Turkish President Suleyman Demirel expressed support for the
rival CSCE Karabakh peace proposal, ITAR-TASS reported. Liz
Fuller, RFE/RL, Inc.
KARIMOV AND NAZARBAEV GIVE UP ON EURASIAN UNION. According to
Ostankino TV on 18 May, Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov told
a press conference in Tokyo that he and Kazakhstan's President
Nursultan Nazarbaev have agreed that Nazarbaev's proposal for a
Eurasian Union should be withdrawn from discussion by CIS heads of
state. The two presidents considered that since integration within
the CIS has proved impossible, the idea of a new union is nothing
more than a "premature slogan." Karimov was also quoted as saying
that Uzbekistan is not prepared to join the NATO
Partnership-for-Peace program. Bess Brown, RFE/RL, Inc.
PROMINENT JOURNALIST KILLED IN DUSHANBE. Khushvakht Khaidarsho,
responsible secretary of the important Tajik daily Dzhumkhuriat,
was shot to death near his home on 19 May, ITAR-TASS reported.
This is the latest in a series of murders of prominent persons in
the Tajik capital: on 17 May a cameraman for Tajik TV was killed
near his home, and the following day the director of a Tajik-US
joint venture, Vladimir Nirman, was shot to death in his garage.
Nirman had been briefly an advisor to Tajikistan's former prime
minister, Abdulatip Abdullodzhanov. ITAR-TASS suggested that
Khaidarsho may have been killed because he published attacks on
the "criminal and political mafia." Bess Brown, RFE/RL, Inc.
CIS
MORE CIS COORDINATION. A new coordinating body is being created to
organize Russia's stance toward work in CIS consultative
organizations. The new body, which will hold its first meeting in
June, is to be part of Russia's Ministry for Cooperation with the
CIS, a ministry created in January 1994. (According to Interfax of
19 May, the Ministry is headed by Vladimir Mashchits, not by
Economics Minister Aleksandr Shokhin, who had initially been
charged with running it.) The task of the new body will be to
implement the economic strategy of Russia towards the CIS states.
Its members will include, among others, representatives of the
Central Bank of Russia and the directors of large Russian
state-owned and private companies. The body will also serve in an
advisory capacity to the Russian government. The creation of this
new body will deepen Russia's policy commitment to greater
integration of members of the CIS, a goal that Russian President
Boris Yeltsin and other Russian officials have highlighted with
increasing frequency over the last year. Suzanne Crow, RFE/RL,
Inc.
MOLDOVA SAID FACING RUSSIAN DEMANDS FOR BASING RIGHTS . . . Under
the headline, "Russian Neoimperialism," Nezavisimaya gazeta of 18
May quotes "Dniester republic" sources privy to the
Moldovan-Russian troop talks as reporting that the Russian side
insists on obtaining basing rights for its 14th Army in Moldova.
The Moscow daily also quotes that army's commander, Lt.-Gen.
Aleksandr Lebed, as corroborating the report and recommending that
"in order to persuade Chisinau of the necessity" of granting the
basing rights, "it is not necessary to openly use force; economic
measures are enough." Sources within the Russian delegation to the
talks with Moldova expect that Moldova's "not particularly
constructive" position may soon change, ITAR-TASS reported on 19
May. For the past two years the Russian side has intermittently
and unofficially demanded basing rights which Moldova has refused.
Both sides have refrained from public comment--Russia for
international diplomatic reasons, Moldova to avoid domestic
political repercussions and to conciliate Moscow in the perceived
absence of international concern with the situation. Vladimir
Socor, RFE/RL, Inc.
. . . AND PRE-PAYMENT FOR GAS. The management of Moldova's natural
gas authority told the media on 17 and 19 May that Russia's state
concern Gazprom has demanded pre-payment for gas deliveries,
effective 1 June. Moldova currently owes Gazprom 258 billion
rubles for past deliveries, but more than half of this amount is
owed by consumers in Transdniester not under Chisinau's control.
Gazprom has steadily increased the price of gas delivered to
Moldova, which currently stands at 98% of the world price, the
officials said. Vladimir Socor, RFE/RL, Inc.
CORRECTION. In the item entitled "Military Budget a Blow to
Grachev?" the RFE/RL Daily Report of 17 May incorrectly dated an
article in the newspaper Kommersant-Daily. The article appeared on
14 May, and not on 14 March, as was reported.
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
CRIMEA ACCUSES UKRAINE OF ATTEMPTED COUP . . . Crimea's acting
interior minister, Valerii Kuznetsov, accused the Ukrainian
interior ministry of actions which amounted to a military coup in
Crimea on 19 May, various agencies reported. Kuznetsov said
Ukraine's first deputy interior minister, Valentyn Nedryhailo,
arrived in Simferopol accompanied by spetsnaz units. Nedryhailo
then attempted to deliver a directive of Ukraine's president,
Leonid Kravchuk, which dismissed the leadership of the Crimean
internal affairs ministry and subordinated the ministry to the
Ukrainian president. ITAR-TASS reported that 1,000 special forces
troops had been sent by Ukraine to Crimea and were concentrated
around the Black Sea Fleet base of Sevastopol. The Crimean
parliament reacted to the incident by voting to confirm Kuznetsov
to the post of Crimea's interior minister. Ustina Markus, RFE/RL,
Inc.
. . . WHICH UKRAINE DENIES . . . Ukrainian officials refuted the
reports that any coup had been attempted. Defense Ministry
Spokesman Oleksander Kluban said the report of troop
reinforcements being sent to Crimea is "another fantasy of the
Black Sea Fleet press center . . . no forces were ever sent."
Interior Ministry Spokesman Stanislav Kovtunenko said that only
eight interior ministry officials had arrived in Crimea. Ustina
Markus, RFE/RL, Inc.
. . . WHILE CRIMEA IS TO PROCEED WITH VOTE ON CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENT. The incident came on the heels of a decision by
Crimea's parliament to postpone a vote to reinstate a 1992
constitutional amendment which stipulates that relations between
Kiev and Crimea be governed by treaties until 20 May. The
Ukrainian government views the amendment as a declaration of
independence since it would allow dual citizenship and give Crimea
the right to have its own military forces. Ustina Markus, RFE/RL,
Inc.
SERB PAPER SLAMS GENERAL MLADIC OVER TUZLA LOSSES. The Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung reports on 20 May that the Belgrade daily
Vecernje Novosti has attacked the performance of the Bosnian Serb
commander in unusually harsh terms. The paper has close links to
the Bosnian Serb civilian leader, Radovan Karadzic. The issue was
Serb losses to the Muslims in recent fighting around Hill 619 in
the Tuzla area. Elsewhere, Denmark has protested to the UN over
the latter's recent denial of permission for an air strike to
support Danish troops under Serb fire at Tuzla airport. The Danish
defense minister said that "when a Danish commander in the field
asks for air support, he's not doing it just for fun. It must be
given to him." Finally, the BBC reports that Croats and Muslims
have worked out an agreement for the practical restoration of
basic functions in Mostar. Patrick Moore, RFE/RL, Inc.
CROATIAN PARLIAMENTARY CRISIS ENDS. Croatian Television reported
on 18 and 19 May that a late-night compromise between the
governing Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) and the opposition
had been reached. The deal enables the speakers of both houses,
who last month set up a new party, to stop blocking the convening
of sessions and to leave their offices with honor. HDZ loyalists
will take over the respective speaker posts in place of the
outgoing Stipe Mesic and Josip Manolic, while opposition members
will obtain two deputy speaker posts in each house. Other deputy
jobs have been created for the HDZ, plus one in the lower house
for a representative of the ethnic minorities. Patrick Moore,
RFE/RL, Inc.
KOSOVO UPDATE. The Liberal Party has now followed the lead of the
President of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo, Ibrahim
Rugova, in refusing the offer of political and cultural autonomy
made by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. Party leader Gjergj
Dedaj said that "there is no going back on the Albanians'
demands," Rilindja reported on 18 May. Even though Rugova rejected
Milosevic's move as not serious, he concluded after meeting with
Albanian President Sali Berisha that negotiations with the Serbs
must be resumed at some point, Koha Jone reported on 18 May.
Elsewhere, Borba carried a report on 17 May, saying that Rugova's
ministers in exile are widely criticized in Kosovo for their
policy of "passive resistance" and even for the emigration of
thousands of young Albanians, "who face the threat of
assimilation" in Western Europe, but Borba gives no source for its
allegations. Fabian Schmidt, RFE/RL, Inc.
SESELJ FACES CHARGES. On 20 May Borba continues its coverage of
the 18 May incident in the rump Yugoslav federal parliament in
which ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav
Seselj and several of his deputies nearly came to serious blows
with Socialist Party of Serbia deputies and parliamentary security
personnel. Borba says that Seselj continues his spirited defense
of both his own violent actions and those of his deputies, while
Tanjug reports that the Belgrade district attorney's office has
charged Seselj and four of his deputies with violent conduct and
attempting to provoke a brawl. If convicted, each could face a
prison term of one year. Stan Markotich, RFE/RL, Inc.
MACEDONIAN CENSUS TO BE HELD IN JUNE. On 19 May, the Macedonian
parliament voted in favor of conducting a national census AFP and
MIC reported. The census is needed to establish the ethnic make-up
of the state, now contested especially by the Albanian minority.
Opposition deputies voted against the census because census
questionnaires will be printed in the languages of national
minorities as well as in Macedonian. They argue that this is
unconstitutional and fear that the move may lead to the
federalization of the country. Duncan Perry, RFE/RL, Inc.
SLOVAK PREMIER VISITS SLOVENIA. On 19 May Slovak Premier Jozef
Moravcik traveled to Ljubljana for a one-day official visit.
Accompanied by Economics Minister Peter Magvasi as well as
representatives of the Slovak business community, Moravcik met
with his Slovenian counterpart Janez Drnovsek, President Milan
Kucan and Foreign Minister Lojze Peterle. Discussions focused on
the establishment of embassies in the respective countries and the
development of economic relations. After the talks, Moravcik and
Drnovsek noted that many bilateral agreements signed in recent
months have already begun to show results. Sharon Fisher, RFE/RL,
Inc.
ZHIRINOVSKY'S VISIT TO SLOVAKIA POSTPONED. Vladimir Zhirinovsky,
chairman of the Russian Liberal Democratic Party, has canceled his
planned two-day private visit to Slovakia, which was to begin on
21 May, Reuters reported on 19 May. Although LDP representatives
said the trip was called off "due to bribery allegations involving
a faction in the party," TASR reported that the members of his
entourage had not yet obtained their business passports and were
also having problems reserving the necessary number of flight
tickets from Moscow to Bratislava. Zhirinovsky was invited by
Slovak businessman Ladislav Mojzis and by Jozef Lauko, who
attended the LDP party congress in April. Sharon Fisher, RFE/RL,
Inc.
HUNGARY'S FREE DEMOCRATS HOPE FOR BALANCED POLITICAL CULTURE.
Gabor Kuncze, chairman of the Alliance of Free Democrats party
which finished second in the first round of Hungary's general
elections, said his party will have a popular mandate to enter
into a coalition, should the share of votes of the leading
Hungarian Socialist Party not exceed 50% after the second round.
Also on 19 May, AFD campaign chairman Balint Magyar said the
second round will decide whether Hungary will in the next four
years enjoy a "balanced political culture" and a stable government
in the framework of a "coalition of partners," or whether the HSP
will gain an absolute majority in parliament. Alfred Reisch,
RFE/RL, Inc.
HUNGARIAN PARTY CONSENSUS ON EUROPEAN STABILITY CONFERENCE. A
delegation headed by Foreign Minister Geza Jeszenszky, but without
delegates from the opposition parties, will represent Hungary at
the conference on European stability due to open next week in
Paris, MTI and Magyar Hirlap reported on 19 May. The government,
after asking for the views of the leaders of the Magyar minorities
in Slovakia, Romania, and Serbia, will harmonize on 20 May its
draft declaration of intent with the six parties represented in
parliament in order to achieve a consensus on the document. All
parties agree that the conference should promote European
stability by dealing with both the borders and minority rights
protection issues, with the Alliance of Young Democrats calling
for the participation of minority organizations in the relevant
bilateral and multilateral discussions. Alfred Reisch, RFE/RL,
Inc.
HUNGARIAN, CZECH COMMUNIST LEADERS MEET. Gyula Thurmer, chairman
of Hungary's (communist) Workers' Party, met in Hungary with
Miroslav Grebenicek, chairman of the Communist Party of Bohemia
and Moravia, MTI reported on 19 May. Thurmer proposed the holding
of a consultative meeting of the communist and workers' parties of
Central and East Europe in 1995 in Budapest. Grebenicek welcomed
the victory of the Hungarian Socialist Party in the first round of
Hungary's general elections and said a strengthening of the left
could also be expected in the Czech Republic's local government
elections this fall. Grebenicek added that Czech government
circles had greeted "with anxiety" the first round results of the
Hungarian elections and refuted Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus'
statement to the effect that the Czech Republic was the "only safe
island" in Central Europe. Alfred Reisch, RFE/RL, Inc.
POLAND, CZECH REPUBLIC SETTLE DEBT. Poland has agreed to repay its
$57 million debt to the Czech Republic by the end of 1995 in the
form of investments aimed at environmental protection in border
regions, PAP reports. The agreement was reached on 19 May during a
one-day visit to Warsaw by Czech Deputy Prime Minister and
Agriculture Minister Josef Lux and Economics Minister Karel Dyba.
Increasing mutual trade, which now stands at $800 million per
year, was also discussed. The Czech side expressed concern at the
Polish introduction of "equalizing payments" to protect domestic
production from agricultural imports. Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL, Inc.
WALESA BACKS CONCORDAT IN ROME. Polish President Lech Walesa met
briefly with Pope John Paul II in a Rome hospital on 19 May before
returning to Poland, PAP reports. Speaking to journalists
afterward, Walesa said that "the Polish nation can only behave as
a Christian nation, a nation of faith." He argued that
parliamentary ratification of the concordat with the Vatican is
overdue. Walesa also urged veterans and the Polish exile community
to take part in ceremonies later this year marking the 50th
anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL, Inc.
POLISH WAGES RISE, UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS. Poland's Main Statistical
Office reported on 17 May that industrial wages rose 1.9% in
April, the first month without any wage controls in force. Though
small, this increase alarmed some economists, as Polish wages
generally decline in April. In the first quarter of 1994, wages
rose 4.2% over the last quarter of 1993. Prices rose 2.9% in
April, the highest monthly increase since December 1993. In a
report issued on 19 May, the Central Planning Office noted that
industrial growth remains high (10% above the first four months of
1993), enterprise finances continue to improve, and the trade
deficit is dropping. Inflation remains at disturbing levels,
however. The labor ministry reported on 19 May that unemployment
dropped for the second month in a row, falling to 15.7% in April.
This was attributed both to economic growth and public works
projects, but a new flood of unemployed school graduates is
expected in the summer. More than half the registered unemployed,
or about 1.5 million people, have no right to benefits. Louisa
Vinton, RFE/RL, Inc.
UDF FAILS TO TOPPLE GOVERNMENT. For the sixth time in less than
one year the opposition Union of Democratic Forces failed on 19
May to oust Prime Minister Lyuben Berov in a vote of
no-confidence. While 96 lawmakers voted against the cabinet, and
only 25 in favor, the result fell short of the 121 negative votes
required to force Berov to resign. The ballot was secret, but
since most deputies of the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the New
Union for Democracy factions were absent, Otechestven vestnik
notes that the predominantly Turkish Movement for Rights and
Freedoms must have come out in Berov's support. Nevertheless, the
bad showing demonstrates the present weakness of the government,
which for several months has been under sharp criticism for
different aspects of its economic policy from both opposition and
supporting factions in parliament. Berov has since then been
trying to drum up parliamentary backing for a revitalizing
government reshuffle, though so far unsuccessfully. In Duma of 20
May, BSP leader Jean Videnov calls on the MRF and NUD to place
their trust in Berov's capacity to reorganize the cabinet himself.
Kjell Engelbrekt, RFE/RL, Inc.
ILIESCU SAYS RETURN TO COMMUNISM NOT POSSIBLE. At a rally in
Oradea on 19 May, Romania's President Ion Iliescu said that a
return to a communist regime in Romania was no longer possible.
Rompres quoted him as saying that "the old totalitarian regime has
been demolished," but that the "new situation" has created social
tension. Iliescu, who is paying a working visit in north-west
Romania, reiterated his appeal for dialogue and reconciliation as
a means of overcoming the difficulties of the transition to a
democratic society and a free market economy. Dan Ionescu,
RFE/RL, Inc.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE CRITICIZES ROMANIA. Romanian newspapers ran on
19 May the text of a report drafted by Friedrich Koenig and Gunnar
Jannson from the Council of Europe on Romania's democratic
progress. The report criticizes Romania over slow reforms and the
failure to bring its policies on ethnic, religious and sexual
minorities to European standards. It is particularly critical of
the treatment of the Hungarian, Gypsy and other ethnic minorities,
including curbs on mother-tongue tuition. Leading figures in the
opposition described the criticism of the Council of Europe
rapporteurs as well-founded. Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL, Inc.
ESTONIAN DEFENSE MINISTER TO BE REPLACED. Baltic media reported on
19 May that Prime Minister Mart Laar's decision to dismiss Defense
Minister Indrek Kannik had received sufficient backing from the
Pro Patria parliamentary faction and that the appointment of a new
defense minister could be expected soon. Apparently a key factor
in the dismissal was a personality clash between Laar and Kannik.
The rumored resignation of five other ministers did not take place
and Laar's cabinet may otherwise remain intact at least until
after the Pro Patria party congress, scheduled for 11 June. Laar
told the press that if he is not reelected chairman of the party,
he would resign from the premiership. Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL, Inc.
ALLEGATIONS OF LATVIAN POLITICIANS' COLLABORATION WITH KGB
REJECTED. At a press conference on 18 May, spokesmen for Latvia's
Prosecutor General's office and the Documentation Center of the
Consequences of Totalitarianism rejected stories disseminated in
the Russian press claiming that Latvia's President Karlis Ulmanis
and three parliamentary deputies--Igors Bukovskis, Alfreds Cepanis
and Odisejs Kostanda--had been KGB agents. Furthermore, on 19 May
Ulmanis gave Russian ambassador Aleksandr Rannikh a letter by
Latvian Prosecutor General for his Russian counterpart, protesting
against the publication of the allegations and asking for an
investigation of the matter. Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL, Inc.
SWEDISH FOREIGN MINISTER ON RUSSIAN TROOPS, KALININGRAD. While
visiting Kaliningrad on 19 May , Sweden's Foreign Minister
Margaretha af Ugglas announced that her country was allocating
funds for an international project to attract investments to the
Kaliningrad region. Calling for the reduction of Russian military
presence there, Ugglas depicted the Kaliningrad region as "an
anomaly in the Baltic Sea region" because of the huge
concentration of military forces there. Ugglas said that Sweden
would also be prepared to support a program for Russian army
officers to learn civilian professions. She described as "serious"
the violation of Sweden's territorial waters by Russian
submarines. On the previous day, while visiting Lithuania, Ugglas
once again insisted on a complete withdrawal of Russian troops
from Estonia and Latvia, Interfax reported on 19 May. Dzintra
Bungs, RFE/RL, Inc.
NOTICE
The RFE/RL Daily Report will not appear Monday,
23 May 1994.
[As of 1200 CET]
Compiled by Vladimir Socor and Michael Shafir
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